Advanced Micro Devices said Thursday that Rick Bergman has resigned as general manager of AMD's Products Group to take a job with another company. The chip maker did not elaborate on why Bergman, who joined AMD when it acquired graphics chip maker ATI Technologies in 2006, decided to leave.

AMD's recently appointed president and CEO Rory Read will take over Bergman's responsibilities as general manager of the company's main product unit on an interim basis.

"I want to thank Rick for his many contributions to AMD and wish him well in his future endeavors," Read said in a statement sent to PCMag. The statement did not specify the company Bergman had joined.

Bergman gained a higher profile at AMD in the aftermath of former CEO Hector Ruiz's departure a few years ago and as the chip maker spun off its silicon manufacturing business while more tightly integrating its CPU and GPU product divisions under the umbrella of the Products Group.

When Ruiz's replacement Dirk Meyer left AMD abruptly in January to be replaced on an interim basis by CFO Thomas Seifert, some observers felt Bergman was the heir apparent for the CEO role. Instead, AMD's board selected IBM and Lenovo veteran Read to head the company.

AMD also announced that former Comcast executive Paul Struhsaker has joined the company to lead AMD's newly-formed Commercial Business Division as a corporate vice president and general manager.

"The commercial market is vitally important for AMD and the addition of Paul to our team demonstrates our commitment to profitably grow our server business," Read said. "Paul brings an extensive business management background and customer perspective on AMD's commercial business opportunities. I look forward to working with Paul to help drive the growth plans for this exciting part of our business."

Damon Poeter got his start in journalism working for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand. He covered everything from local news to sports and entertainment before settling on technology in the mid-2000s. Prior to joining PCMag, Damon worked at CRN and the Gilroy Dispatch. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle and Japan Times, among other newspapers and periodicals.
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